


Worth the Effort

by exovelvetwriters



Category: EXO (Band), Red Velvet (K-pop Band)
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, EXOVelvet, F/M, Fantasy, Painting, Science Fiction & Fantasy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-15 16:33:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28567002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/exovelvetwriters/pseuds/exovelvetwriters
Summary: Chen takes a chance and makes a delivery, crossing more worlds than he could know.Genre: Fantasy, Prompt: Painting
Relationships: Bae Joohyun | Irene & Kim Jongdae | Chen, Bae Joohyun | Irene/Kim Jongdae | Chen
Kudos: 10
Collections: EXOVelvetWritersFest 2.0





	Worth the Effort

“It looks lovely, doesn’t it? A sweet picture.” 

The older man approached from behind with knowing, twinkling eyes.

Chen moves over to give him space and politely nods.

The large painted canvas before them seemed to glow under the soft morning light streaming through the shop’s windows. In it, a woman held a child in each hand, back facing the viewer as the trio looked into a purple horizon ---- all other colors in the artwork muted. 

It was beautiful.

Chen would stop every time he passed by the display window, just to spare a moment to look at it. Today, for whatever reason, he took it upon himself to finally enter and take a closer look. 

Luckily for him, the shop owner seemed to want to indulge his curiosity. 

“Appearances aren’t everything though.”

“What do you mean by that, sir?”

“This painting has quite a sad story behind it. Would you like to hear it?”

He looked over again, mulling over the fact that after listening, he may never see it the same as he always had, an image he’d never known before --- a happy family.

_ Was that something he’d want to risk? _

But the man sounded like he wanted to tell him. And Chen, ever so gentle at heart, could not bear to turn his offer down.

“Sure, if you don’t mind telling.”

“The woman in the middle. She painted this, some years ago. But after the Red Force rose into power, her family was separated. It hurt her heart having to see, but she couldn’t bear to destroy it. And so she came by and left it here for me to sell, saying it caused her more grief than anything. Her lost children and the image of them together was now nothing but a fantasy.”

“That really is quite sad.” Chen murmured, an achingly dull feeling twisting in his chest. 

It was a common enough story, families being separated after their land was torn into two. 

He would know. 

“Suppose I should tell you anyhow, since you’re always looking at it when you’re around. I see you peeking in all the time.”

Embarrassed at how transparent he’d been, a subtle flush came over Chen’s face as he scratched the back of his neck. 

“It won’t be here any longer. I’ve managed to sell it off.” 

“Oh, yeah?” His eyebrows rose in surprise, considering how long the painting had been there. “That’s a shame. But I’m glad someone will be giving it a new home. When will they pick it up?”

“They won’t. It’ll have to be sent over. They live across the Border.”

He froze.

“The  _ Border _ ?”

In recent years in the opposing land Velvet’s infamous iron-willed Irene had singlehandedly militarized the area in efforts to screen and control anyone brave enough to attempt to pass through. The place was like a whole separate world under her reign. Even The Red Force left it alone, too daunted by her growing power and resigning themselves to it knowing in the end, it supported their own agenda to keep the neighboring peoples separated.

“Who’d be crazy enough to deliver it for you?”

The older man’s features hardened, only staring straight back at him in answer. 

“No one else here could do the job. I need  _ you _ in order to be assured it gets into the right hands. The reward would surely be worth the effort. I heard about you and your  _ abilities _ . ”

Chen froze. 

“H-how did you know?”

“Gossip travels fast here. Everyone knows the tale of the boy who once broke lightning. I knew who you were the moment I saw you --- the strong and sunny aura, eclipsed by a shadow you’ve put upon yourself.” The old man’s eyes softened before he continued with gentle reassurance. “Your power is nothing to be ashamed of.”

Chen swallowed, once again feeling bare. He rushed to clear his throat and redirect the conversation. 

“Listen, with all due respect, there’s no amount of money you could pay me to cross into Velvet’s borders. End of conversation.”

“It’s not money I’m offering.”

He paused to listen further, intrigued in spite of himself. 

“You don’t need to tell me ---- to say it out loud. But think to yourself. You know what you want, your heart’s most deepest desire.  _ That _ is what I’m offering to you.”

The old man was so cryptic and sure of himself, acting like he knew everything about him. It was as confusing as it was tempting; the idea of being understood.

One much too alluring to ignore for someone like him. After all, he spent the last twenty-odd years of his life alone. 

Chen thought to the loving family depicted in the artwork. If only he really could be given such a thing.

The old man seemed to read his thoughts.

“Maybe you don’t think it’s possible. That it doesn’t make sense. But it’s true. You deserve this. You just have to trust me.” 

And so he does. 

Just like that, he agreed to embark on a journey he wasn’t sure he’d make out alive to return from. 

X

Elyxion is all flat, concrete jungles and skyscrapers acting as perpetual shelter. But he realized quickly that the Velvet lands were not the same. As he inched into their territory, the terrain became rocky and damn-near impossible to trek through.

It scared him to see.

If these tumultuous hills and ridges were not enough to act as natural dividers, how intimidating was the actual Border?

Once he could finally make out the towering wires of the gates, glittering even in the dark, he nearly fell over in fear. They were the thickest he’d ever seen and even wove in and out of each other in painful looking patterns, huge barbs sure to elicit impossible surges of electric shock. 

Military-grade indeed.

Only Irene could come up with something so sinister. 

He thought about the name, which to some, brought shivers down spines. 

Just what would he have in store for himself?

The old man’s words rung in his ear.  _ ‘You just have to trust me.’ _

Eyes shut, he went ramming with the force of a million miles in his already bloodied feet slamming into the fence wall. He felt around with a calloused palm to shove through weathering, loosened holes. Oddly enough, his hand felt numb. He’d expected sharp sensations but all he felt was the familiar flow of electric scouring through his body, calmly redirecting itself out. 

“ _ Drop!  _ Who are you?”

Suddenly, he’s pulled roughly by the shoulders up from the gritty trenches and staring straight into the eyes of a stone cold looking officer. 

The dirtied but wrapped canvas still held securely under an arm.

“I’m going to ask one more time. How did you get in here?”

“I slipped through the gates. It was my understanding that the Velvet land would not ban any back and forth with Elyxion peoples, so long as they could make it through the Border.”

“Impossible. No one can just _ slip  _ into the Border. Our electrical wiring is military state grade. You’d long been electrocuted into bits by now if you had tried it.”

“What’s with all the noise?”

The source of the smooth and commanding voice had the surrounding men quick to make way. Like Moses and the Red Sea.

Perhaps if Moses was 5’2. 

“Who are you and what you are doing here?”

The petite woman got straight to the point, waving her men away with a simple flick of her wrist, purple sleeves flowing. 

A fearful face. Eyebrows thick, lips stern.  _ This must be Irene.  _

Chen eyed her warily.

“I’m here simply to deliver an item. I have no other intentions. You may inspect it personally if you wish. After I see it delivered safely, I will return to Elyxion. Never to come back. You have my word.” 

She cocked a brow. “You’re a person with some self-importance, to think your word could be enough.” 

He faltered, Adam’s apple flickering as he swallowed a nervous pool of saliva. 

She sensed it and hid an amused smile.

“I’ll humor you on the premise of your boldness. It’s not every day I get someone as foolish to cross through. Even more so, someone able to _ redirect electricity _ .” She bit the last words out quietly, eyes narrowing at him. “I heard about you. Was expecting your arrival, actually.”

His mind felt like it was running in circles. He couldn’t process any implications in her words before she spoke up again, distracting him. 

“Who’s the package for?”

He looked down, having never bothered to check throughout his journey here. The old man didn’t say much, only that the name would be enough.

“It says it’s for a Joohyun.”

“Just as I thought. Hand it over,”

He flinched, holding the canvas back away from her.

“ _ No. _ I told you I wouldn’t leave until it got safely delivered to the right hands. It’s an important object.”

She laughed, wild and free. 

He paled. Maybe the woman was crazier than the rumors made her out to be.

“It is in the right hands,  _ Jongdae _ .” 

She offered no explanation and motioned at him to follow as she began walking onto stable ground. Chen followed, confused but as docile as a lamb. As they moved further in, he could see the emergence of the town, busy despite the late hour. So unalike Elyxion, all still in a precarious curfew dictated by the Red Force. 

He stopped walking, grounding his feet.

“What’re you doing? Where are you trying to bring me? What did you mean when you said you had heard about me? And whose Jongdae?”

She looked at him almost condescendingly with a pitying smile, still offering no answers.

“I need to see Joohyun.” He recited, trying to find some strength.

“You’re looking at her.”

“What?”

“ _ I’m _ Joohyun, you dolt. I ordered this painting. I’ve been searching for it for a long time. I sent one of my men to find it. It wasn’t easy searching all of Elyxion. The old man at the shop promised he’d have it sent over with an extra gift as well, as a token for all my efforts. Who knew it would be such a grand one.”

“No. You’re Irene. You have to be. You’re so scary, just like they all say.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yes. It’s me. Scary Irene. I’m also Joohyun, though.” All of a sudden her face had a touch of solemness and her voice became soft. “Joohyun, before she found her way into the Velvet lands. Joohyun, before she got caught up in a fight she could care less about. Joohyun before she was forced to become a leader, too skilled in the business of staying alive.” 

She took a moment to swallow, eyes now holding his. 

“Joohyun, who had a talented Mom who could paint anything, but chose to always paint in purple just because it was her daughter’s favorite color. Joohyun, who would insist on noodles for dinner every night just because it was her little brother’s favorite food. Joohyun, who had so much more than Irene could ever wish for, to  _ survive _ for.”

He couldn’t understand anything she was saying, but his insides seemed to. For whatever reason, a tightening surge of heat crept into his throat and his eyes were threatening to leak. 

“Don’t you remember?” 

The question was soft, almost plea-like. 

He couldn’t.

Though he wanted to, just on account of how sincere Irene---- no,  _ Joohyun _ , was looking. Everything felt strange and blank. He wanted to remember so bad. Desperately so. 

To be known by someone,  _ remembered _ , even if he couldn’t himself. 

With determination, she unwrapped the painting. Her hand caressed the space where the boy was.

“Joohyun, who promised to always play with her little brother Jongdae? Jongdae, who scared away the other kids because he could bend the skies with his lightning?”

His neck almost snapped with how quickly he looked up at her. Eyes wild and wide.

“I knew  _ only you _ could get past the Border’s electrical gates. That’s why I had them put up.”

For a long time the two just stared at each other.

_ Jongdae.  _

_ Joohyun. _

She knew him.  _ Knows him _ , now even. 

He practiced the names mentally, willing for any memories to come forward. Nothing concrete came from it, just snippets of a life he thought removed from himself like scenes from a different world. 

They would sometimes appear in his dreams after arriving at the orphanage in Elyxion.

A boy sitting in a woman’s lap, dipping fingers into pools of paint as he helped her paint. A girl racing to wipe away tears after the same boy, buzzing with static energy, was left alone at the park, other kids running away as thunder rolled on in the background. 

_ “J-Joohyun?” _

She nodded vigorously before enveloping him in a hug, painting dropped and forgotten.

_ He _ was that boy. 

That world was  _ his _ world. 

When they broke apart all he could do was ask for _ her _ .

“Where is she?”

“No one knows. I still have men looking for her, all throughout Velvet and Elyxion. We’ll find Mom one day.”

Jongdae figured as much. 

To have suddenly gotten a sister in a day was already a miracle, and wishing for a mother too must’ve been too much for the Heavens to grant him.

He crouched and picked up the painting from the ground.

“At least we still have her here.”

The two smiled.

He flipped it over, about to tuck it again beneath his arms but stopped when he noticed some inking on its backside.

“What is this?” 

Joohyun leaned in, beginning to read the scrawled writing which had been made partially unreadable by weathering of time, in a hushed tone. 

“Two suns, in two worlds…...Seeing the same sky on different grounds…...One day…..one perfect root…...a new world shall open up….” She flipped it over, tucking it under her arm before placing her free hand back over his arm to walk again.

“Sounds like a puzzle. Guess our mom was quite the cryptic storyteller.”

“Yeah. I had enough mystery and drama for today, though.”

Joohyun smiled, a soft laugh leaving her as she did. With a small hand, she clutched onto his and Jongdae’s chest grew so warm, almost like his body was  _ remembering  _ her. What it was like to be held by his big sister, his _ Joohyun _ .

She squeezed their hands. So tight, like she’d come across the most precious thing --- scared to let go. “You’ve worked hard today.”

He thought back to the old man and his knowing eyes.

“It was worth the effort.” 

**THE END**

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave kudos and comments for our author! <3 You could also leave a like and share with your friends on Twitter! Just look for our festival thread on @exovelvetwrtrs.


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